On the fiftieth anniversary of the historic Colts Giants NFL Championship game, TIME takes a look at the roster of players, coaches, referees and announcers who helped turn pro football from a niche sport into the true national pastime

Jack Kemp

(l. to r.): Darryl Norenberg / NFL / Getty; NFL / Getty

The Game: The Giants third string quarterback saw no action in the championship game.

Post-Game: Threw for over 21,000 yards, mostly for the Buffalo Bills, during a 10-season pro career that ended in 1969. Kemp then served nine terms in Congress from 1971 to 1989, and was a vocal supporter of supply-side economics and a key architect of Reagan's 1981 tax cuts. Served as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development under President George H.W. Bush, and was Bob Dole's Republican running mate in their 1996 Presidential election loss to Bill Clinton.